"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" | |
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The Simpsons episode | |
Episode no. | 17 |
Directed by | Wesley Archer |
Written by | Sam Simon & John Swartzwelder |
Showrunner(s) |
James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon |
Production code | 7F01 |
Original air date | November 1, 1990 |
Chalkboard gag | "I will not my butt". |
Couch gag | The couch springs out like a bed. |
Commentary |
Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss |
Season 2 episodes
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Seasons | |
"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons' second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 1, 1990. In the episode, Bart catches a three-eyed fish in a river downstream of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. This causes the plant to become inspected, and in order to prevent it from being shut down, Mr. Burns decides to run for governor. After a hard campaign which sees Burns rise from being universally despised to running neck and neck with popular incumbent Mary Bailey, it is decided that Burns will have dinner with a random employee the night before the election. Homer is chosen, much to Marge's chagrin.
The episode was written by Sam Simon and John Swartzwelder, and directed by Wes Archer. It was the first episode produced for season two and was intended to air as the season premiere, but was replaced with "Bart Gets an "F"" due to Bart's popularity in the early 1990s. The episode features cultural references to several American films, mostly the 1941 film Citizen Kane, with Burns in the role of the character Charles Foster Kane. Mary Bailey shares her name with George Bailey's wife in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
Journalists have described the episode as a satire on both American politics and environmentalism. It won an Environmental Media Award in 1991 for being the best television episode of the year with an environmental message. Since the episode first aired, the three-eyed fish Blinky has been mentioned several times in news articles regarding nuclear waste and mutation. The episode was positively received by television critics for its satire on American politics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 15.8, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.